1880.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



217 



Forests and the Atmosphere. — The Garden- 

 er^s Chronicle says : " From concurrent ther- 

 mometric observations made in forests and away 

 from them, at 1.40 and at 14 meters above the ! 

 ground level, M. Fautrat arrives at the following ! 

 conclusions. In consequence of the differences 

 of temperature which are observed underneath 

 the foliage and above the summits of trees, a 

 current of air from below upwards is established 

 in forests, and also lateral currents around woods 

 from the foliage towards the open space beyond, j 

 These currents cause a healthy breeze in hot 

 weather. The ascending current carries off 

 above the forests the vapors from the soil, puts 

 this latter in communication with the clouds, 

 and fills the office of a lightning conductor ; and 

 it is to this, no doubt, that forests owe their re- 

 markable property of keeping hailstorms at a 

 distance." 



The Golden Cup Oak. — The golden cup oak 

 (Q. chrysoleps) is a puzzle to botanists; and well 

 it may be, since it occurs as a lofty forest tree 

 and also as a tiny bush. Dr. Kellogg, of San 

 Francisco, pronounces the dwarf form a distinct 

 species ; but Dr. Englemann, of St. Louis, though 

 the difference in size is so great, believes that 

 one species includes both extreme forms. A 

 California botanist, Mr. J. G. Lemmon, who has 

 lately made an extended exploration of the High 

 Sierra back of Yosemite, sides with Dr. Engle- 

 mann, and says that on the various slopes about 

 Yosemite and elsewhere in the Sierra, he has 

 found specimens grading all the way from a tiny 

 prostrate bush, loaded with small, smooth cupped 

 acorns to the tall, majestic tree, bearing yellow 

 golden dust-covered acorn cups two inches 

 across — Scientific Amencxin. 



Relative Influence op Sex in Fertitj/,.^.tion. 

 — It has been stated that, in order to obtain 

 double flowers, it is advisable to Tiiake use of the 

 pollen from double flowers, where it is possible 

 to obtain it, and to apply it to the stigma of sim- 

 ple flowers from which it is desired to procure 

 double-flowered seedlings. ]M. Lemoine, of 

 Nancy, it appears from the Revue Horticole, has 

 tried this plan with success, and was desirous of 

 experimenting in this manner with Lilacs, but 

 the only double-flowered lilac then known had 

 no stamens, and consequently no pollen. M. 

 Lemoine then decided to reverse the process, 

 and to fertilize the stigmas of certain double- 

 flowered lilacs with the pollen from some of the 

 best single varieties. The experiment was so far 



a success, that out of forty seedlings, thirty at 

 least yielded semi-double or double flowers, one 

 of them being very remarkable for its beauty. — 

 Gardener's Chronicle. 



QUERIES. 



Varieties of Pitcher Plants. — Mrs. C. writes. 

 "I would like to ask you about some Sarracenias 

 which we found during our southern trip. Two 

 varieties we have not found described — one with 

 a bright yellow flower, about the color of common 

 prickly pear, grew very abundantly in Florida; 

 the other a green flower, exactly the color of the 

 leaf in Virginia. My theory is, that the green 

 one would change color on exposure to air and 

 sun, as the Cobsea. We looked for them in the 

 Smithsonian Herbarium, and the gentleman who 

 has it in charge could give us no information, 

 either from his own knowledge or his reference 

 library. That suggests another question; which 

 do you con.sider the best dictionary of botany, 

 Johnson's, or Lindley & Moore's? I have been 

 trying to get Chapman's Southern Flora, but fear 

 it is out of print. 



[These may have been forms of Sarracenia 

 flava, which is a very variable species. Chap- 

 man's work went through two editions, and we 

 are sure there would be a good demand for a 

 third if Dr. Chapman could be induced to pre- 

 pare it. Wood's Class Book of Botany describes 

 southern as well as northern plants. As a mere 

 dictionary, Johnson's is the best ; but Aiose who 

 could afford it should have the " Treasury of 

 Botany " also. It tells of so much more than 

 \ the mere dictionary does. — Ed. G. M.] 



Indigenous and Exotic. — F. R., St. Louis, Mo., 

 I writes : " We have here an abundance of a white 

 flowered weed which is one of the worst of our 

 wild things. But when talking with a friend re- 

 cently about it, I was corrected. He said it was 

 not a wild flower, but an exotic. I am sure it is 

 native to these parts, for I have known it long 

 years ago. What is the true meaning of exotic 

 as applied to a common weed:" 



[Usually, gardeners confine the term exotic to 

 plants requiring more than usual garden care 

 brought from other countries; they would 

 scarcely call a weed which came to this country 

 without his direct aid an exotic. Still, critically, 

 one might call an introduced weed an exotic. 

 Usually foreign weeds would be called introduced. 



